The BBC2 reality series Maestro, which starts on Tuesday, sees eight celebrities learning to become classical conductors and competing for a chance to perform at this year's Proms in the Park. British conductor Ivor Setterfield is mentoring drum'n'bass DJ Goldie on the show. Setterfield has previously wielded the baton for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, founded the New London Soloists Orchestra and starred in Channel 5's series The Singing Estate

Why did you get involved in the show?Recently Goldie came to a concert I was giving where we played a piece by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. The next week he mentioned it in his top 10 tracks of all time in a London paper. That was fantastic to me. I think lots of people who come upon this programme accidentally will stay with classical music in the future.

How's Goldie getting on?He's doing remarkably well. To some extent, his background in drum'n' bass is a help because he has a good sense of rhythm. Technically, he needs to control his non-conducting hand, which communicates expression, and learn to do less.

Who is his stiffest competition? The competition's in flux at the moment because different contestants are evolving at different speeds. On the surface, the ones who read music already have an advantage but our challenge is to work with what we've got.

What makes a great conductor?It's a difficult question - it's like asking what makes someone a great wife or friend. You're in a partnership with your musicians, and it's a combination of many different aspects that make that partnership work. You need to absorb all the technical skills but the most important thing is to be both a great communicator and a great listener.